This was an ok read. It passed time on weekends but it wasn't something that I felt compelled to find out things eventuated.

I suspect that I've read a lot of historic fiction with a WWII setting so something needs to be exceptional to grab my interest.

I personally felt Tholdi more selfish than being a romantic, I don't know whether it's because it's been a while since I was that young or that I'm of a more pragmatic disposition. He definitely struck me as blinkered and didn't seem to understand the consequences of his actions. There was a girl next door who he'd grown up with and he basically treated her dreadfully (although that is a common fictional trope, especially for someone still in their teens). He spins the tale that he's 'doing everything to benefit his family' but spends money (which is definitely not in abundance) on getting fake id for Lubya. He has the chance for his family to escape but uses the (very real threat) of his mother's health to persuade his father that they should stay. And why, so he can help Lubya escape.

The main female protagonist, Lubya, struck me as someone who would always land on her feet. It seemed she would be the type who would be able to dial things down and slip through the cracks if she wished to. My thought was that she would have been fine by herself and that Tholdi's intentions didn't actually help her

I'll be gifting this one but suspect that the recipient won't really like it either. Maybe I'll just put it in the closest little library. ( )